Some Late-Lineup Life Lifts Commodores to Win Over Air Force as Middle Hitters Struggle

The Vanderbilt Commodores got a much needed lift from unlikely candidates to seal the midweek victory over Air Force.

Vanderbilt baseball took the win over Air Force 5-2 on Tuesday afternoon. | Vanderbilt Baseball Twitter/X | @Vandyboys

The Vanderbilt Commodores baseball squad managed to eek out another early season win via a final score of 5-2 on Tuesday afternoon behind some late-lineup hitting that clipped the wings of the Falcons.

And while the win might be great, as it lifts the Dores to 4-1 overall, it may not be sunshine and rainbows this early on in the season, still.

Pitching Needs No Notes

Whatever the bullpen has been eating before games, keep on keeping on, because no less than seven arms came out of the woodworks against Air Force, and the Dores still held the academy to just two runs on the day while surrendering just five total hits.

The win was as 'by committee' as it gets, as no pitcher saw more action than 3.0 IP, and those belonged to starter Brennan Seiber, who struck out six batters and only allowed a single walk through his efficient outing.

The pen did well in relief duty, showcasing yet again the depth of the Vanderbilt arm squad. Make no mistake about it, there may be some minor tweaks that need to be made from here to the end of the season, but the Vandy pitching rotation is in a good place.

The Lineup Woes Continue, Sort of

It doesn't take a baseball savant to recognize that head coach Tim Corbin is experimenting with the middle of his batting lineup, but at what cost? Today, RJ Austin did his thing in the leadoff spot, going 2-5 at the plate. However, outside of him, it was the seven and eight-hole hitters who shouldered the brunt of the offensive load.

That could be passable, though, considering that senior Jacob Humphrey went 3-4 and 3B Chris Madonaldo went 2-4, but the fact of the matter is that hardly anyone else found a way to contribute on offense throughout the middle of the unit. On the early outset of the season, four starters are batting at or around .150 through the team's first five games.

And it's not like Vanderbilt hasn't seen competent pitching. The Commodores will see more solid non-conference arms than most until SEC play hits, and then the difficulty gets turned up even a few more notches.

Rest assured, Tim Corbin and company will busy themselves to find a solution before the team's next game against St. Mary's on Friday in Nashville. It's just a matter of whether or not the strategies actually work.